Protecting Yourself
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You shouldn't need to feel vulnerable to identity theft or viruses while shopping online, using email, or surfing the Internet. As a matter of fact, most Internet security issues are easily preventable and require just a few easy updates to your computer along with some common sense.
Following is checklist of tips for protecting yourself from security attacks, which will lessen the likelihood of a security attack.
1. If you do nothing else, install anti-virus software! Antivirus software runs in the background and checks email messages and other activities, preventing viruses from infecting your computer. 2. Another must-have these days is a firewall, which protects your computer from hackers. A firewall provides a barrier between your computer and the Internet and monitors inbound and outbound Internet traffic, preventing viruses from reaching your computer. 3. Update your security patches on a regular basis. 4. Backing up your files is essential. Regularly backing up your files doesn't protect your computer from viruses, but if you do happen to get a virus, you are able to restore any files a virus may have destroyed.
Email protection
To help prevent viruses, don't open spam email. There are also some good free and paid spam filtering services, which help prevent most junk mail from reaching your inbox.
Identity protection
One of the easiest ways to protect your private information from being stolen is your password protection. Avoid weak passwords and use a password that is hard to guess.
Some common password bad practices are:
Not using a password at all. - A password that is easy to guess with a little background knowledge of you. For example: favorite baseball team, your birthday, your spouse's name, etc. - Believe it or not, the most common password in use is "Password" - definitely avoid this one. - Not periodically changing your password.
Some common good password practices:
Your password doesn't need to be a word at all. Ideally, combine letters, numbers and keyboard symbols. - Ideally, you should create a password at least seven characters long. The longer your password, the harder it will be to guess or break. - Your password doesn't contain your user name, real name, or company name. - Your password should be a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and keyboard symbols (be aware though, that some punctuation marks may be difficult to enter on foreign keyboards if you are traveling abroad). - Your password is changed regularly, at least every couple of months.
Guard your passwords
Never reveal your passwords to anyone. - Don't enter your password when others can see what you are typng - this is especially true in public places. - Choose unique passwords for different services, especially your banking sites. - Again,change your passwords often. - Don't recycle your passwords - mypassword2, mypassword3, for example. - Avoid writing passwords down. Instead, use memory tricks to create and remember them. You could make a password out of the first letters of each word in a memorable phrase, or substitute numbers for letters. For example, you could use "1" for "L", "5" for "s", "3" for "e", etc. - Never email your password to anyone. No reputable firm will require you to do this. - If you suspect someone is using your password, change it immediately.
Visit secure web sites when you are shopping online
Look for contact details such as a physical address and a telephone number. - Don't judge a vendor by their web site alone. Some scammers are have very sophisticated looking sites. - Be especially careful when purchasing from overseas companies. - Check the privacy and returns policies of the seller.
Use a Secure Website
Be sure you use a secure web site to enter credit card information. A secure site will display a padlock symbol in the bottom right of the browser window, and the website address will begin with "https://". - Your address bar may turn green when you are on a secure site, providing you are using the latest browser technology and the store has the latest website security (known as an Extended Validation SSL Certificate). - Use caution if you get a warning about a certificate. - Click on the padlock to verify if the seller is who they say they are, and that their certificate is current and registered to the right address. - It's easy for fraudsters to copy the image of a padlock and place it on the web page itself. The padlock will ALWAYS be in the in the window frame of the BROWSER, NOT on the actual web page.
Beware of Scams
The old cliche', "If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is" certainly holds true. Do some online research to check if anyone else has had problems. - Be cautious of work from home scams that promise easy profits but never pay. - Purchase from reputable companies. - Be extremely cautious of anything offered in an unsolicited or spam email.
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